Switzerland has cleaned its waters so thoroughly that you can swim even in rivers in the middle of the city
As noted by the portal Swissinfo.ch, clean rivers, streams, and lakes in Switzerland today are a matter of course; in terms of water quality, this country is unmatched in Europe, if not the world. It is hard to imagine, but where children are now splashing carefree this summer, signs once stood saying 'Swimming Prohibited.' Indeed, by 1960, only 14% of Swiss households could boast a connection to a wastewater treatment system.
Michael Schärer, head of the Water Resources Division at the Federal Office for the Environment (Bundesamt für Umwelt), shares his memories with us. 'As a child in the 1970s, I often watched the work of so-called "sea cows" – ships that cleaned lakes of algae accumulations. So even then, Switzerland had begun taking measures to improve water quality in natural water bodies. However, in those days, and especially in my parents' time, swallowing a little water from a river could easily give you a severe stomach upset. Posters warning 'Swimming at your own risk' were an integral part of the Swiss landscape.'
Dirty foam on the water surface, remnants of toilet paper along the shores of lakes and rivers, accumulations of rotting algae, fish floating belly-up – the slow-moving environmental disaster was not only visible but also dealt a serious blow to the sense of smell. The last straw, perhaps, was the outbreak of... typhoid fever in 1963 at the famous resort of Zermatt! Victims of this disease, which we usually associate with civil wars and other disasters, numbered 450 in peaceful Switzerland, three of whom died. And then the country decided to radically change the situation.
Swiss direct democracy also played its role. Using their inalienable and constitutionally guaranteed civil rights, the Swiss launched a popular legislative initiative in 1967 'On the Protection of Water Resources from Pollution.' A vote on it never took place, but only because the government and parliament realized the need for appropriate legislative measures.
As a result, in 1971, the discharge of untreated wastewater into rivers was strictly prohibited in Switzerland. By 2005, 97% of Swiss households had access to wastewater treatment systems. Currently, the country's sewer system has a total length of 130,000 kilometers, equivalent to three times the Earth's circumference, and there are at least 800 water treatment plants in operation.
Of course, all this 'luxury' was and is not free. In total, the Swiss have invested about 50 billion francs in building the national water treatment infrastructure. From the federal budget alone, 5.3 billion francs were invested in this project. This year, the last 10 million francs will be invested along this line.
So now, no one in Switzerland would think of looking suspiciously at lake or river water. Of course, strange objects are constantly being raised from the bottom of water bodies, and it recently came to light that at one time, the army disposed of old unused ammunition at the bottom of some lakes. But that is another story; the fact remains: in protecting its natural resources, particularly water resources, Switzerland has achieved tremendous success.
Michael Schärer from the Federal Office for the Environment speaks without doubt of a true 'success story.' Now, to the surprise of tourists, city residents even swim in the river that flows through the city center. Clean water is no longer a special privilege or luck; it has become completely normal. Tap water in Switzerland can also be freely drunk; in quality, it is equivalent to mineral water. Such 'tap water' is even ordered and, as a rule, received free of charge in restaurants.
Of course, problems remain. Traces of pesticides, residues of hormonal drugs, and even... cocaine sometimes present in the water still have a very negative impact on Switzerland's animal and plant life. The most modern treatment plants are still not able to filter out literally all harmful impurities from water one hundred percent. Therefore, a national program is now being developed and prepared for implementation in Switzerland, under which, by 2040, literally all water treatment plants in the country are to be reconstructed so that wastewater is completely free of any micro-pollutants. Switzerland intends to spend about one billion francs on this project.
In Switzerland, wastewater treatment costs are covered by fees levied on the principle: 'The more you dirty, the more you pay.' Municipalities, communities, and other local-level municipal entities charge citizens monthly payments to finance the operation of urban public utilities that provide water supply and wastewater disposal. The rate of such fees, as always in Switzerland, can vary noticeably from canton to canton and from city to city, ranging from 20 to 70 francs per month for a family of four.